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Ernesto de la Cruz
Ernesto de la Cruz is the main antagonist in Coco. Background Born in 1896, Ernesto was an up-and-coming musician from the town of Santa Cecilia. He started his musical career as a guitarist with his close friend Héctor as his songwriter. As the two were on tour across Mexico however, Héctor felt remorse about leaving his wife and daughter behind and intended to quit his career to go back to them. Ernesto tried to convince him to change his mind, and when his attempts failed, Ernesto seemingly accepted Héctor's decision and shared a toast of tequila with him. Unbeknownst to Héctor, however, Ernesto had poisoned the drink; as the two walked down the street, Héctor succumbed to the poison and died. Seizing the opportunity, Ernesto took his songbook and guitar. With Héctor's songs, Ernesto became a musical legend across the country and a star of renowned films. Winning crowds with his noble appearance, Ernesto was revered as a symbol of Mexico's passion and pride, all the while leaving no-one the wiser of the true circumstances of his fame. In 1942, Ernesto performed the song "Remember Me" at a concert among millions of his fans. As he finished the song on a high note, the backstage hand was distracted and accidentally released the rope holding the stage's bell up; Ernesto, being right under the signal at the moment, was crushed by it and killed instantly. His body was laid to rest in a tomb back in Santa Cecilia, while his spirit was sent to the Land of the Dead. Ernesto's memory carried on in public, thus he has retained his reputation in the Land of the Dead, regularly performing to the dead citizens and living out his days in his massive underworld mansion. Official Description :Ernesto de la Cruz is Miguel's idol and the most famous musician in the history of Mexico. Revered by fans worldwide until his untimely death, the charming and charismatic musician is even more beloved in the Land of the Dead. Personality At first glance, Ernesto presents himself as a charming, wise, and sensible individual who encouraged others to follow their dreams no matter what, making him seem like a good role model. However, it is later revealed that Ernesto was selfish and desperate in life the point of being a rank opportunist whose ambition drove him to murder his best friend Héctor, and stole his songbook and guitar to achieve fame and glory. His afterlife as a spirit has not only maintained but strengthened his reputation that he will go to malicious lengths to keep it that way. Even Miguel, the boy who looked up to him as his idol, was a liability in his eyes to the extent that Ernesto would resort to murdering the child to hide his secret, with no remorse for such a heinous act. Role in the film Ernesto de la Cruz first appears at his mansion in the Land of the Dead. During the Day of the Dead, he is hosting a party exclusive to Mexico's high-class celebrities. Miguel tries to get his attention by singing an improvised song. Suddenly, he falls into a pool, prompting Ernesto to dive into it to rescue him. Upon reaching the surface, Ernesto discovers he is the human boy he had been hearing about. Miguel declares himself as de la Cruz's great-great-grandson. Ernesto is elated and the two of them start bonding. After the party settles down, Miguel asks Ernesto how he felt about leaving his family behind; hesitating, Ernesto answers that he had to make the decision to pursue his own dreams of becoming a musician, and suggests Miguel do the same if he desires. Miguel explains that he needs Ernesto's blessing to return to the Land of the Living. Ernesto agrees, but before he can bless the marigold petal, a bitter Héctor shows up. Héctor reveals to Miguel that he wrote the songs Ernesto was famous for and accuses Ernesto of leaving Héctor to be forgotten. Ernesto tries to be civil until Héctor reminds Ernesto that he would have moved "heaven and earth" for him. It is then that Miguel notices the similarity of that statement with a quote uttered in one of Ernesto’s films, where the film's villain said the same thing while poisoning Ernesto's character. Looking at the film, Héctor realizes his partner caused his death by poisoning him. Enraged, Héctor tries to attack Ernesto, but he is thrown into a cenote pit by Ernesto's guards. To test Miguel's loyalty, Ernesto asks Miguel if he believes Héctor's story. Miguel denies it, but Ernesto sees that Miguel does and has him thrown in the cenote as he confiscates Héctor's photograph. While held by Ernesto's guards, Miguel protests they are family to which Ernesto coldly notes that Héctor was his best friend; his callous words allow Miguel to see Héctor was telling the truth and Ernesto reminds Miguel that he needed to do whatever it took to achieve glory. In the cenote, Miguel and Héctor discover the truth about their heritage and are later rescued by the other Riveras. Together, Miguel, Héctor, and the rest of the Riveras sneak into the backstage of the Sunrise Spectacular concert to get Héctor's photo back. When they run into Ernesto, Imelda slaps him with her shoe for murdering the love of her life. Undaunted, Ernesto and his security fight against the relatives for the photo, which soon ends up with Imelda. During that time, Imelda is accidentally put on stage where she sings a duet with Ernesto while simultaneously trying to get Héctor's photograph from him. She succeeds, but Ernesto catches up to them later and grabs Miguel. Héctor pleads with Ernesto to let them send Miguel home as he is a living boy. Ernesto refuses on the grounds that he's a threat while the other Riveras covertly turn the cameras on him. Noticing this, Miguel angrily calls Ernesto a coward and reminds him that Héctor is the real musician while Ernesto is a thief and a murderer, but Ernesto viciously roars he will do anything for fame and throws him from the building. Satisfied, Ernesto returns to the stage and passes by a weakened Héctor, dismissing what he just did with a shrug. Unaware that he was caught in the act, Ernesto faces his audience only to be met with scowls from the crowd and orchestra. Ernesto tries to sing "Remember Me", but the crowd boos and throw fruit at him. Confused at the reception, Ernesto sees the monitors have exposed his crimes to the entire Land of the Dead to his shock. Imelda's spirit guide Pepita arrives as Ernesto attempts to escape, but he is caught by the alebrije and thrown into a bell tower. While recovering, the bell falls and crushes a horrified Ernesto once again, stopping him for good. When Miguel gets sent back to the Land of the Living, he reveals the truth about Héctor and exposes de la Cruz's crimes to his family, who in turn expose them to the world. By the next Day of the Dead, Héctor is credited as the authentic musician by Santa Cecilia while Ernesto's statue is publicly defaced, the only addition to Ernesto's shrine is a sign that reads "FORGET YOU" on it. Category:Main villains Category:Primary Villains Category:Deceased Villains